This week’s new releases include CD “vinyl replica” reissues from Midnight Oil and Iggy Pop, plus a first-time vinyl release of Grant Hart’s 1999 solo album ‘Good News for Modern Man’ and a live-in-the-studio set from Lone Justice recorded in 1983.

Just days after manager Gary Morris told Australian media that Midnight Oil had been offered up to $200,000 per show to reunite and tour the U.S., the band has issued a statement saying it had no current plans to reform in the wake of Peter Garrett’s newfound unemployment, and that Morris was resigning his position.

Following a Labor Party shakeup today that ousted Australia’s first female prime minister, former Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett has announced he is leaving government, as he resigns his position as Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth and won’t seek re-election.

This week’s new releases include brand-new studio albums from Iggy and The Stooges (‘Ready to Die’), The Blow Monkeys (‘Feels Like a New Morning’) and Big Country (‘The Journey’), plus a Melvins cover album (‘Everybody Loves Sausages’) and a Midnight Oil best-of (‘Essential Oils’).

The double-disc, 26-track best-of set from Australian rockers Midnight Oil that was released Down Under last fall will receive a belated American release April 30 via Columbia/Legacy, the label announced today. Essential Oils offers a career-spanning overview of the band’s catalog.

It’s been nearly a week since the Coachella lineup was unveiled, and there’s little elaboration on one of this year’s surprises: the unlikely reunion of the Violent Femmes for the two-weekend California festival this April, something once thought impossible because of the bad blood engendered over a Wendy’s TV commercial.

Earlier this month, Australia’s MAX TV network aired an hour-long documentary on Midnight Oil as part of its “The Artist’s Story” series, and now, thanks to the folks at the Midnight Oil Fan Page on Facebook, those of us who aren’t Down Under can watch this excellent career overview.

This week’s new releases include new best-ofs from Midnight Oil and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, a collection of covers from Propaganda’s Claudia Brücken, a re-recording of Fear’s debut album (‘The Fear Record’) and an audiophile vinyl reissue of The Sisters of Mercy’s ‘Floodland.’

Midnight Oil will be the subject of an all-new Australian TV documentary that promises “the first ever inside story” of the band, thanks to its use of “a wealth of rare archival footage as well as the only interviews with each of the five band members granted in recent years.”

On the heels of last week’s announcement of a new 2CD best-of, Aussie rockers Midnight Oil today began offering a free download of “Read About It” recorded live in 2009 at one of two warm-up shows the band played in Canberra prior to taking part in the Sound Relief benefit concert.

Their box set may be on hold, but Australian rockers Midnight Oil do have a new release up their sleeves: In November, the band will issue a new 2CD, 36-track best-of titled ‘Essential Oils,’ a truly career-spanning overview of the band’s catalog, sampling cuts from 1978’s self-titled debut through 2002 swan song ‘Capricornia.’

Welcome to the Week in Rock, where we round up all of the headlines posted on this site over the past week. This edition includes items about Midnight Oil, The Stone Roses, John Lydon, This Mortal Coil, The Specials, Pet Shop Boys, World Party, Mission of Burma, The Smiths and more — plus the latest Auto Reverse mixtape.

Plans for a career-spanning box set from Australian rockers Midnight Oil — which guitarist Jim Moginie last year promised ‘is going to be amazing in its depth and presentation of the band’s career, with rare recordings and so far unseen and unheard film and music’ — apparently are ‘back on hold’ as the band re-evaluates the release.